TODAY'S FAMILY & KIDS ACTIVITIES IN FAIRFIELD-JAN 24

Daily activities for kids and the family are abound in Fairfield County! Whether you want to spend the day with your children at a zoo, a museum, or just outdoors, we've got it all here. Want to see what's going on next weekend or when you have those few days off? Check out the NY Metro Parents' calendar!

Pioneering diver/marine biologist Dr. Sylvia Earle has led more than 50 expeditions worldwide, logging 6,000 hours under water.
The former chief scientist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is an explorer-in-residence at the National Geographic Society and also heads Mission Blue, a worldwide alliance for ocean protection. She was Time magazine's first "Hero for the Planet," holds the women's record for deepest solo submersible dive, and is founder of Deep Ocean Exploration and Research (DOER), a marine consulting company that aims to engineer creative solutions to underwater exploration problems.
Last summer, she co-led the final mission to the Aquarius Reef Base, the world's only undersea lab. Reserve tickets at ext. 2206.

The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp was founded in 1988 by Paul Newman with the purpose of allowing children with serious illnesses to enjoy all the transformative experiences and friendships that camp provides. This fundraising event features a short program highlighting the camp's growing services, followed by a screening of Newman's film "Cool Hand Luke". Sponsorships and individual reception/screening tickets are also available and include a pre-screening reception at the Dressing Room restaurant. Additional details can be found on the website.

Bill Probert will be making an encore performance with his All Aboard LEGO train exhibition. He creates visual puns, pastoral scenes with unexpected surprises, and urban scenes where railroad tracks, weeds, carefully-tended gardens, and busy streets blend seamlessly into one another. A special feature in this year's exhibition will be the addition of four creations from winners of the Stamford Museum & Nature Center's All Aboard competition. LEGO enthusiasts in four age categories from five-years-old and up will be submitting entries for inclusion in the exhibition. Through January 27, 2013.

See creative confections, consisting completely of edible materials, from the area?s bakers, chefs and caterers. Returning favorites, along with new competitors, will show off their gingerbread skills. Visitors will be able to vote for their Fan Favorite." Through January 27, 2013.

Join Thomas and Driver Sam on a fun-filled, sing-along, mini-performance adventure by helping Thomas find his way from Knapford Station to Brendam Docks using teamwork, friendship, and discovery. Parents: bring your camera for a photo op with Thomas to capture the special day. Daily, Jan. 1-27.

A first time solo exhibition introducing the art and celebrating the life of Lora Eberly Ballou featuring a collection of over 30 floral arrangements and landscape oil paintings; an assemblage of personal effects; and a historical timeline documenting her 106 year life. September 27-January 31, 2013.

An open juried art exhibit for distinguished and creative expression depicting faces and figures at the Stamford Art Association. This year's juror is local artist and teacher, Eddie Nino. January 13 - February 7, 2013.

Inspired by WAC's upcoming exhibition, "William Wegman: The Traveler," WAC seeks toy designs conceived by children ages 5-12 for a juried contest. Submit up to three concepts, be it a manipulative toy, action figures, game, or animated robots. A maximum level of creativity, playfulness, fantasy, humor, and imagination are strongly encouraged. Entries due February 11.

Exhibit and programs commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and its significance over time, featuring Abraham Lincoln's signed copy, rare slavery artifacts, prints, political cartoons and more. Visitors who present a ticket stub from the film "Lincoln", will receive $2 off of an adult admission to the exhibition. Through February 24,2013.

This interactive traveling exhibit illustrates how climate change is impacting the landscape of New England over the changing of the seasons. As you explore the exhibit, you'll get a chance to find out how climate change is affecting the people of New England; share your thoughts about what aspects you might miss most about New England's current climate; compare coastal flooding today with projections for the year 2100 and control a global climate change simulation. December 15 2012-February 24, 2013.

Take refuge from winter by retreating to Tropical Paradise - a showcase of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory's permanent collection, including orange-yellow crotons, fuchsia bromeliads, and rosy-red hibiscus. You'll feel like you are on vacation without leaving New York.
View The Beauty of Paradise: A Photographic Tour during regular Garden hours. See a photographic display of tropical paradises around the world. Learn about plants and flowers found in tropical climes through a display of exceptional photographs from the prestigious International Garden Photographer of the Year Contest, of which the Botanical Garden is the US partner. Access additional details about the displayed photographs via your smartphone.
Inside the cozy Discovery Center in the Everett Children's Adventure Garden, kids of all ages can take a closer look at the differences between tropical and temperate plants in Tropical Discoveries and Wintertime Wonders. Pot up a specimen plant to take home and compare its characteristics with foliage in your neighborhood; make bark rubbings, count tree rings, and head back into the winter garden with a field notebook to discover the vital sparks of life that lie just below the surface of this quiet season. On view January 19-February 24.
Please confirm hours on the day of your visit by calling 718-817-8700.

This family-friendly exhibition of winter scenes from children's books features more than thirty original artworks from favorite illustrators, including many living in the Connecticut region such as Lizzy Rockwell, Jennifer Thermes and Wendell Minor.
The snowy season is depicted in vivid winter landscapes, frolicking animals, and popular sports and games such as sledding, ice skating, and snowball fights. Displayed works present the range of media available to illustrators, including pen and ink, colored pencil, oil, watercolor, gouache, papercut, collage, and digital media. December 1, 2012-February 24 ,2013.

Artist Colleen Browning (1918-2003), a National Academician, played a significant role in America's contemporary realist movement in the years after 1950. Fairfield University rediscovers and celebrates the career of this Anglo-American Realist painter. January 24-March 24, 2013.

Artist Colleen Browning (1918-2003), a National Academician, played a significant role in America's contemporary realist movement in the years after 1950. Fairfield University rediscovers and celebrates the career of this Anglo-American Realist painter. The Thomas J. Walsh Gallery offers a selection of compelling oil paintings created in the years after 1960. January 24-March 24, 2013.

Help a child stay warm and cozy by donating new pajamas and/or a book. Pajama Program is a 501(3)c not-for-profit organization providing new pajamas and books to children many of whom are waiting to be adopted.

Larry Lederman, landscape photographer and member of NYBG's Board of Advisors, has spent years walking the garden grounds to observe and photograph trees and vistas in all seasons and at all times of day. Lush images featuring their diversity and visual impact are on view in the gallery space.
The New York Botanical Garden is home to more than 30,000 trees, some in woodland, some in groves, and some standing in solitary majesty. Magnificent Trees is lavishly illustrated with photographs by Larry Lederman and accompanied by descriptions by Todd A. Forrest, Arthur Ross vice president for horticulture and living collections at the garden. An authority on the diverse species present across the 250-acre landscape, Forrest details their fascinating histories -- from their vital role in Native American life and culture to their function in neutral territory during the Revolutionary War. Lederman captures their grandeur in hundreds of stunning images and portrays their diversity with photographs that reveal the trees in myriad fascinating perspectives: in landscape views that convey the garden's genius loci; portraits illustrating the architecture and profound visual impact of select trees; remarkable details of flowers, fruit, leaves, and bark; and impressionistic images, abstract in character yet beautiful in composition.

Each visitor's own identity is front and center. The personalized experience allows you to look at your own fingerprints, see your personality as a musical spectrum, investigate where your brain stores your identity, map your social connections, and throughout the exhibition, see yourself from new perspectives: your future self, your symmetrical self, and yourself as a new gender or ethnicity. January 18, 2013-April 21, 2013.

Children can enter the framework of famous paintings and experience art by as they physically enter a scene and are encouraged to interpret, express and connect with art. They can ride a giant chicken attached to a wagon, set up a camp in the Canadian Rockies, prepare dinner for a group of hungry farmers. They can become an art gallery director, selecting and exhibiting art in their own gallery, as well as explore the exhibit through Art Hunt Cards. The exhibit was produced by the Minnesota Children's Museum for the members of the Youth Museum Exhibit Collaborative (YMEC). Through May 12, 2013.

Coral reefs are considered exotic, distant places with little or no connection to our everyday world. Yet every reef is a living city beneath the sea, with a parallel existence to ours. Maritime Aquarium audiences will recognize scenes from New York City as the film compares reef communities to human communities. The film?s imagery immerses audiences in reef communities, among familiar dolphins, sharks and rays but also lesser-known species, such as crocodile fish, colorful nudibranchs and delicate flatworms. January 18-June 20, 2013.

This is a program for children and adults with sensory integration dysfunction, autism, and other disabilities with a sensory component. Teachers work on balance and coordination, auditory and tactile sensitivity, strength building, motor coordination, cooperative play, turn-taking, and social and verbal skills.

Never lack for a family activity
Receive our weekly highlights newsletter · Over 1,000 local activities